chaos EXPOSED

Changes.

Posted by Cassie Chao ,

Sorry for not keeping my blog updated for the entire month of September. There are 2 days left in this hellish month, but what the heck, I might as well just update you now! I have been so overwhelmed this month in Operations, but it has been FANTASTIC!

Even though I’ve been losing my voice every week (will be explained later) and the temperature has dropped 20 DEGREES, I am enjoying every moment here in Shanghai.

I’m not much for explaining what has been going on in my life other than showing you in photos!

This month began with a great concert from Black Violin at Mao Livehouse. Classical music mashed with hip hop. Following the concert, we made a little club hop adventure for ourselves, hitting up 3 clubs of which we will never return to again.

Next came a photo opportunity with former president Jimmy Carter…

Yeah…that’s me next to him! What a cute old man.

After Jimmy came THE GOVERNATOR. Yeah...ARNIE! I got to stand next to him in our group photo (that which cannot be found) and shook his hand after he called me a "Califohnia gahl".

Throughout the month a few of my friends participated in a pageant held at the expo: Miss Expo. My friend Mary Anne, who is an Irish American working at the USA Pavilion represented Ireland and won her heat! In the pageant finale, she won 3^rd!

Outside of operations, a few of us at the USAP had been volunteering with Junior Achievement. It was an opportunity for me to see other parts of Shanghai and interact with the local Chinese. Junior Achievement is a competition where students from different elementary schools compete to produce an innovative product that would be sustainable in reality. Sadly, my little troupers didn’t win, but I thought they were great!

My cute kids!

To keep ourselves entertained in Operations, we give ourselves code names, dance in front of 50,000 visitors a day, and DRESS UP!

This was for Texas week!

Also, something that is entertaining is watching the Johnson & Johnson game in Act 3 of our pavilion. Let me explain. J&J has a “game” where our visitors text “关爱” or “care” to the phone number listed, we give them a small gift. It’s a cell phone chain with a little bunny at the end, called a “Stevie”.

J&J was smart enough to have an “incentive”, which was giving the shift with the highest number of text messages in a week $500USD or if we win the month $1,000USD.

Because of this outrageous amount of money (the prize goes far in China), each shift tries extremely hard to win! There are also rules. We can only announce the game in Act 2 and no megaphones allowed. This is why I have been voiceless for 3 weeks. However, Week 1, we won! We were 4,000 texts above the 2^nd place shift. We used our money for go karting! Also, in Chinese fashion, the go karting place encouraged drinking and driving… it was a bar with go karting…

The day before our go karting adventure, we had operations shift dinner which I organized to be at Gintei – all you can eat and drink teppenyaki! The food was amazing and the restaurant has surprisingly fast service. Festivies are always followed by more festivities. Off to G Plus!

Speaking of amazing food, I have discovered the most amazing hot pot restaurant in the world. Hai Di Lao. They have fastest service in all of China (probably faster than what I have experienced in the states), they get you what you want before you even know you want it. Seriously. Not only is the service impeccable, while you wait for your table/food you can get a FREE MANICURE. I am not joking. FREE LEGIT MANICURE. I went twice in 3 days…

The way to end my week…3 days in a row at the Fake market. I bought 6 pairs of pants, all electric and vibrant colors and 3 pairs of shoes. I’m sure they will show up on my facebook photos… Just like the pants below. Man, do I love the fake market.

Last note of happiness – the USA Pavilion staff party has been approved! Oct 12 is a PARTY IN THE USA! More details to come soon.

Hell yeah! Private room on the 4th floor of MUSE. This is how we roll.

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Rotate and Shift it.

Posted by Cassie Chao ,

-Aug 25-
I think it’s about time I update you on my hectic life in Shanghai. Since last time, I did move departments from Sponsorship into CEO Operations – Special Projects, mainly doing office management and other good stuff. I did get sick, and about time huh? However, after two days I have begun to recover, but still have a nasty “Shanghai lung” cough.

CEO Operations covers all events occurring under the precedence of the CEO plus the office operations, including weekly Wal-Mart runs, getting people into the expo, expo transportation for the commissioner general and CEO, etc... Sadly, these are my last few days in the office (unless a miracle occurs and Operations and the CEO let me stay, ha). My next rotation is in Pavilion Operations meaning that I will be welcoming 50,000 visitors every day, dealing with children peeing on the carpet, guests passing out from the heat… you get the picture.

Outside of work, I’ve relaxed a bit more, gone to the fabric market to get a blazer made, visited Saudi Arabia pavilion (!) and South Korea pavilion, celebrated a friend’s birthday, and went to the FIRST EVER WWE event in China. Guess what, I was 10 feet away from John Cena. Yes! My high school dream came true and OMG it was fantabulous. Photos are definitely necessary in this case.

Rachel's bday at Cantina Agave.

Rachel's bday bash at Muse.

Char and America's Best Dance Crew season 3: Rhythm City.

Char and I at the Israel Pavilion party: Fill up my cup, Mazal Tov!

On top of the Saudi Arabia pavilion. VIP access, baby!

Having fun in the S. Korea Pavilion.

Brazil Party!

John Cena WWE @ Expo culture center.

-Aug 30-

Today was my first day in Operations (downstairs). I am no longer in the office, instead I am welcoming thousands of Chinese people a day. During my 7 hour shift approximately 25,000 expo attendees come through the USA pavilion doors. I was fortunate to have my first rotation include "overture", "turnstiles" and "act II: urban garden". I was overwhelmed to begin with, but made the most of my day and practically had a 7 hour party.

I wish there were photos of me in Overture and Turnstiles since we invited some kids to dance with us at turnstiles to Lady Gaga - of course.

Also, in overture, I shook hands with Israel's ex-prime minister, Ehud Olmert. He complimented my overture speech with Kate. LIFE AT THE EXPO!!!

This past weekend we went all out by dancing, eating, and more dancing. It was a wild one- a fun way to end office life.

Expo party at Club Mao.

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Work hard & play as hard as you can.

Posted by Cassie Chao ,

Now I truly don’t know where to begin. I have come upon my second week of work in Sponsorship, and have already developed a love hate relationship with my job/lifestyle. Of course I have exhausted myself physically and mentally through constant nights out. I don’t know what it is but I definitely have the dance bug where I can’t stay in at night. Over the past 2 weeks of being here, I have stayed in for only 4 nights, which means every other night I have been living up the Shanghai nightlife.

I guess I’ll break this post down in to WORK & PLAY.

WORK

The sponsorship department takes care of all the sponsors – around 70 dedicated companies/cities that have supported the USA Pavilion. Since the USAP is privately funded, it is crucial that we take care of sponsors and see it through that they take full advantage of their benefits. We host events daily, including VIP tours through the USAP as well as other pavilions. Last Monday, I brought through a delegation from Houston, one member of which worked on the recently launched satellite. I was also able to visit France, Spain, and Canada pavilion through the VIP access – just one of the perks on this job.

Occasional visits from GE, one of our global sponsors, fill up our schedule throughout the week and they bring rare gifts, such as jade pendants from the Beijing Olympics – another perk of this job.

One HUGE aspect of life at the Expo is the “trading of pins”. Workers at different pavilions receive their own country pin (USA gave us 4 each) and we trade them between pavilions/workers. Of course the USA pavilion pins are a highly sought so those can be traded for more than one pin. Sometimes people in the Expo will just give you pins…this is rare but it’s happened – how do you think I got the Communist Party pin? J I’m awesome.

My work schedule has been somewhat random. I never get two consecutive workdays off, which is understandable because sponsors can come in any day of the week. This definitely messes with my playtime, but it hasn’t stopped me yet. When I do have work, I have to get to work before 9, since many delegations choose to come in earlier, but it hasn’t been a problem even when I sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning.

As of right now, I am waiting for some VIPs of Pepsi to come through… kind of bored right now.

As of tomorrow, I am being transferred to the “Special Projects” department as my experience is much needed in the event management section. I will remain an ambassador, but I will be more hands-on on all of the events, including non-sponsored events. Not only will I be working on events, but office management – my favorite! I’m excited to be a part of a new team, which only consists of 3 people including myself. I will let you know how it goes.

PLAY

Shanghai nightlife is something I had dearly missed when I was in the States. Even New York City does not compare. I always had a saying that “Americans are too lazy to dance which is why there are so many bars and lounges…Shanghai knows how to party”. Shanghai Round 2 is homework-less making it MUCH easier for me to experience the nightlife…full on. The ironic part of it is that I only stay in the nights before my days off… and go out every other night. For those who are reading this…yes, I am responsible and I have not been drunk, “I just wanna dance!”- my motto for my stay in Shanghai, as many of my friends know.

The session 2 ambassadors have been so much fun, and its great to get to know them better through dance! I have made friends with the Dance America team (hired dancers from LA for our entertainment crew) as well, but just watching them dance at clubs make me feel bad about my movin and shakin!

There’s not much to write about my nightlife experience, except that it has been a blast. I have already tested my physical limits by sleeping a mere 4 hours a night. It’s ok, the hours have been increasing recently so don’t worry! Just think about all that dancing and how many calories I’m burning. I’m not sure, but I think I’ve lost about 10 pounds already. Impressive, huh?

I have also been shopping like NONE other since our weekly stipends are far more than enough for us...well those of us that like to eat frugally but spend fruitfully. My most impressive purchase thus far is 3 pairs of PRESCRIPTION glasses for 120RMB (~$18USD) each, and they're cute!!

Photos are worth a million words.